


odd one out

by lovesthesoundof



Series: Diamond Games [2]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Background Relationships, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2019-09-07
Packaged: 2020-10-12 02:35:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20556797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovesthesoundof/pseuds/lovesthesoundof
Summary: White and Spinel, outside the door. Beware movie spoilers.





	odd one out

The first time she plays a game with just White, it's because Blue and Yellow are occupied. That was White's exact word, "occupied", and at the time of speaking she was distinctly pink around the facets. Spinel still hasn't asked her about that - of the three of them, White is the hardest to reach - but it makes her giddy to see the grand matriarch take on a hint of her own colour. If she were more selfish, or perhaps just a little bolder, she'd ask what Blue and Yellow are doing just to see if the flush got darker. As it is, she's happy to set up the Colony Crafters board for two and not admit that she knows exactly which game the word "occupied" conceals.

Twenty minutes in, Spinel is three spires up and White doesn't seem to have noticed. She barely looks at the board, makes her moves wordlessly, looking all the while as though she's inches from a dramatic sigh. Finally, she says, "I don't know what to do."

Spinel almost gets out the playbook out of sheer habit before she realises this isn't about the game. She puts down the legion token she was about to play; it clicks too loudly in the empty room. "...Is this because they're playing a game without you?" she ventures cautiously.

"Of course not!" White is turning pink again. Her hair looks a little ruffled, too; she chases it back into place with a fuss of her hand. "I have no interest in **that** sort of game."

"That...doesn't really matter." The pink glow vanishes in a split second. It's startling, watching her change so fast. Abruptly, painfully, Spinel wishes Steven were here. This is **his** game, not hers; she's an absolute beginner and this is definitely not Easy Mode. "It's more that they're doing something and you're not involved. ...I know that can be really hard."

White's lip curls in distaste. Spinel feels sick, like she's slowly destabilising, but it only lasts for a moment; the look isn't aimed at her. "If it is, it's my own - " White stops dead in mid-sentence, unable to voice the word _fault_. She turns away, flushed pink with what Spinel finally recognises as shame, and only when Spinel inches forward enough to touch her hand does she take a shuddering breath and continue. "...I created this. I created everything. Gems to create other gems, gems to work, to mend, to govern, to lead... I created it all, and left no place in it for me. So what am I **for**?" She gesticulates wildly, scattering spires across the floor. "Am I just a-a relic of the past without the good sense to stay there?"

Spinel has ducked behind the table. She peeks out cautiously. "Should I...try to answer that?"

Looking back at her, White seems to return to reality; blushing darker, she tries to set the board to rights. "...Well, I...if you have any thoughts on the matter, I'd love to hear them. I'm heartily sick of listening to my own over and over."

"I know that one," Spinel says with a wry grin, joking to cover how touched she is. White really wants her advice? **White**? She'd believe it from Blue, Blue's always been the softest of them, but this is...this is something else. She chooses her words carefully. "...Keeping in mind that I was made to play...I think the place to start is always with fun. What's fun? What do you want? What do you love? Figure that out and you know what you're for."

White's gaze flicks immediately toward the exit. It takes Spinel a moment to realise why: that's where Blue and Yellow are, without her. A cold ache spreads outward from the centre of her gem, and for a split second she's rooted to the spot, dessicated vines wrapped around her ankles, staring at a warp pad that never glows - _no, stop that, this isn't about **your** damage_...

Tearing herself loose from the memory is a physical effort. She focuses on the soft glow of the titan across the table, rises, takes one step, another, a third. "...Hey." She shapes her hand big enough to hold White's nearest index finger. Ancient eyes gaze down at her; she looks back, smiles, hopes it's not too weak to be encouraging. "It's okay," she says. "You don't have to be on your own any more."

White looks like her smile takes effort, too. "Thank you," she says gently, stroking Spinel's head with an elegant fingertip - and then she pauses in mid-pet, blinking. "...Hm."

Spinel blinks back at her. "What?"

Their eyes don't meet any more; White is thinking about something else. "It's odd - I didn't have to think about saying it. It was just...**there**, and I said it, and that was that."

All is quiet for several moments as they process the fact that _thank you_ just came naturally to White for the first time in her life. Spinel is the first to move; she carefully dismantles the silence. "...I get the feeling 4X tabletop isn't for you. You wanna play something with cards?"

White blinks owlishly. "I'm not sure... What would you suggest?"

Spinel positively **beams**. Now she's back in her element. "I'm **so** glad you asked! Lemme see what I got in here..." She summons the nearest object from her gem, only to end up with a sudden pile of clutter. "Who-oops!" It scatters all over the floor. She sighs, drooping wearily. "Oh boy...I gotta tidy the toybox."

"One of your blocks seems to be damaged, too," says White, peering curiously at the mess.

"Aw, seriously?" Spinel groans. "Lemme see - oh!" White is pointing to a red building brick with eight neat bobbles on top. Spinel picks it up and hunts for another. "Nah, it's meant to have those. It fits together with other blocks. Like this." She snaps them together. The sound is just as satisfying as she remembers. "See?"

White takes the offered blocks between thumb and forefinger. She takes them apart, pops them together in a different configuration, takes them apart, pops them together again. Click. Click. Click. Her lips are parted in silent wonder. At length, she looks down at Spinel again with a touch of what might be hope. "...Do you have any more?"

"Couple thousand, I think?" Spinel pulls another half dozen out of her gem and compares them; blue ones, yellow ones, white ones. "All kinds of sizes."

"Show me," says White, beginning to smile.

Grinning back, Spinel does just that.

~*~*~*~

"...honestly think Spinel doesn't know?"

The sound of her name, soft and far away, catches Spinel's attention. She turns quietly from the multicoloured spire they're building and catches sight of Blue and Yellow approaching down the corridor: soft, reproachful Blue walking close beside Yellow, whose lines are somehow more rigid than ever.

"It's not Spinel I'm worried about," Yellow mutters, not knowing how her voice and footsteps carry to someone so small.

Blue gives her a tender look, squeezes her hand, and draws herself reluctantly into a further orbit. Spinel aches again, more warmly this time. They're trying not to hurt White. She's proud of them for that, more so even than for playing a game she'd definitely class as quartzy. Embracing the zeitgeist of the brave new era, or is it something they've been doing for a while behind closed doors? Doesn't matter; it's not her business unless they decide to discuss it. "Hey!" she calls, enlarging one hand for an enthusiastic wave. "Welcome back!"

Blue smiles down at her - and then she notices the half-built creation. She gasps in delight. "Oh, it's **beautiful**!"

That brings White out of her artistic reverie. She has bricks between her fingers, sorted into sizes ready for use. "Oh!" she chirps. "Hello! Dear Spinel found me these wonderful little building blocks - why didn't anyone tell me how satisfying it is to build something with your own hands?"

"Do you really want us to answer that?" Yellow says flatly. She does seem impressed by the build, though.

"Oh, tish tosh, let's not dig up old shards now," says White with a dismissive flap of her hand. A few bricks scatter across the floor; Spinel hurries to pick them up. "Come and **create** something!"

Blue is quick to join her, eyes sparkling with joy. Yellow hangs back a little. Since White doesn't seem to have noticed, Spinel slinks over to the least cheerful of her playmates and rests a hand on her ankle. "You okay?" she asks, more with her eyes than with her voice; she doesn't want to attract anyone else's attention.

The tension in Yellow's jaw softens, but doesn't quite fade. She stoops to pick Spinel up, blocks and all, and sets her carefully on her shoulder. "One brick at a time," she murmurs.

"One brick at a time," Spinel agrees. She isn't smiling right now, but that's okay. "C'mon. Let's go make things better."

They do.

**Author's Note:**

> Games of the day:
> 
> \- A 4X strategy game is a tactical board game in which players control opposing factions and seek to eXplore the game world, eXpand their influence, eXploit the territories and resources they hold, and eXterminate their rivals.
> 
> \- Yes, the building blocks are super-sized Lego bricks.
> 
> \- Blue and Yellow's "game" hopefully requires no introduction.


End file.
